Five years ago, Mark Hearon realized his dream of 30 years of becoming a commercial coffee roaster when he bought the general store in Charlotteville.
He said he owned land nearby in Jefferson and spent holidays and weekends in the area in his RV with the goal of retiring upstate and building a home on that property. He lived in New Jersey at the time and worked in the financial software industry.
“COVID happened and it turned my world upside down,” Hearon said. “I decided I did not want to be in the rat race business anymore.”
Hearon traveled a lot in his profession. In a coffee shop in San Francisco, he watched coffee being roasted.
“I fell in love with the whole process,” he said.
He started small. He bought an electric coffee roaster and began roasting coffee in his basement in New Jersey on the side, he said. He shared his small batches with friends and asked for feedback. He attended a coffee conference to learn more.
When a realtor showed him the Charlotteville General Store property, the second floor had been vacant for 40 years. He decided it was perfect for his coffee roastery. Although he did not intend to own a general store originally, it was part of the package. He opened in January 2021.
Built in 1872, the Charlotteville General Store has used its second floor for many purposes, he said. At various times, it was a movie theatre, a courthouse, a dance hall and even an apartment. The general store was run by a mother-and-daughter team for 38 years.
When they decided it was time to sell, Hearon said, “I reinvented myself.”
The general store is a combination grocery and provisions store.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the outside and the inside,” Hearon said.
He operates a single-pump gas station and sells firewood, fire starter kits, propane, bug spray and ice. He also stocks as many products made locally as he can. He sources his maple syrup and pancake mix from Shaver-Hill Maple in Harpersfield. He buys honey from Sweet Meadows Country Home and Garden in Davenport. He stocks applesauce and granola from Green Sun Orchard in Trout Creek.
His beer comes from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown. One of the hard ciders he carries is from Awestruck Ciders in Sidney. His dairy comes from Dygert Farms Creamery in Palatine Bridge.
Breakfast sandwiches and subs are a big part of his business, he said, all made with Boar’s Head meats and cheeses. There are tables inside the store where customers can eat breakfast or lunch between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. seven days a week. There are benches outside too.
The Charlotteville General Stores sells coffee by the cup and by the pound in five varieties. The light roast is a coffee called Guatemala Asobagri. It uses fair trade beans that come from Solola, Guatemala. The medium roast is the house blend. The dark roast is Peruvian Panachi that comes from the Amazon.
Hearon added espresso and a decaffeinated option. Unlike some other roasters who use chemicals to decaffeinate their coffee beans, Hearon uses a Swiss water process of washing 95% of the caffeine out of the beans, he said.
The secret to his coffee having “no bitter aftertaste” is “I do not over roast the coffee,” he said.
He invites new customers into the general store to have a taste. Hearon also sells coffee grinders and French presses.
In the future, Hearon would like to expand his wholesale business, he said. Currently, his whole-bean coffees, sold by the pound, are available in 20 locations in the region. Gotham City Outpost at the Southside Mall, The Green Earth Health Market in Oneonta, Agway in Cobleskill, Sweet Meadows in Davenport and the Cooperstown Cheese Shop all carry coffee roasted at the Charlotteville General Store.
In addition to expanding who carries his coffee beans sold by the pound for $17.99 each, he would like to expand his subscription business, he said. For $16.99 per pound instead, a customer can opt for a monthly subscription with automatic replenishment.
Currently, Hearon fills online orders from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas and New York state.
During the winter, Hearon has two employees. During the summer when there are more tourists in the area, he employs three people. Baseball families find their way to the store, he said.